Category: BEST DOCUMENTARY – ARFF BERLIN 2026

Original Film Title: Snow Over Kigali – an African Christmas Tale

Director’s Name: Kerim Esen

Writer’s Name: Kerim Esen

Producer: Kerim Esen, Esteban Corti, Jessica Beard, Lucia Sapelli, Aniket Ukey

Country of Origin: Argentina, Germany, Paraguay, Rwanda

Country of Filming: Germany, Rwanda

Language: English, German, Kinyarwanda

Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes

Film Description:

“Snow over Kigali” is told from an African perspective through the eyes of a nine-year old boy. It pictures three mother-child stories unfolding in parallel in Kigali and culminating on Christmas Eve in Berlin:
Rachel’s Secret – A nine-year old boy looking for snow travels alone from Kigali to Berlin. At the foot of the Berlin TV-Tower, Ethan meets former athlete Nick who promises that it will snow on Christmas Eve…
Esther’s Decision – After a bad breakup, a young Rwandan woman doesn’t tell her German boyfriend Patrick that she is pregnant. Patrick returns from Berlin to Kigali to fight for Esther’s love and the life of their unborn daughter…
Deborah’s Will – 20 years after genocide a widower returns to Rwanda to fulfill his late wife’s will. George is looking for Deborah’s daughter to confront her with the truth buried in the past…

Original Film Title: Idris Elba: Our Knife Crime Crisis

Director’s Name: Ben Steele

Writer’s Name: Ben Steele

Producer: Diene Petterle, Leanne Hayman

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Country of Filming: United Kingdom

Language: English

Runtime: 59 minutes

Film Description:

Knife crime is spreading across the UK, with an average of four people stabbed to death every week.
For Idris Elba, this isn’t just a statistic – it’s personal. Growing up in East London, where violence was a constant threat, he understands the critical choices that shape futures. Aware of how easily his own path could have gone in a different direction, Idris – actor, campaigner and man determined to make a difference – embarks on a mission to confront this urgent crisis.
Why is knife crime rising in so many places? How do we stop it? Can we balance punishment with prevention?
Idris speaks with victims, offenders, police, and grieving families, uncovering harsh truths and challenging stereotypes. While often seen as an inner-city problem affecting black and brown communities, the reality is broader: white offenders are the majority of those arrested for carrying knives, and rural areas like Avon & Somerset, Bedfordshire and Sussex have seen significant increases in the knife crime rate.
In the West Midlands, Idris learns of an unprovoked murder by two 12-year-olds. At Feltham Young Offender’s Institute, he meets perpetrators who feel they were driven to carry knives and hears warnings from the governor that by the time the boys are locked up, it’s often too late to turn their lives around.
The film features Pooja Kanda, whose son Ronan was murdered in a case of mistaken identity. She highlights systemic failures and risks when children are excluded from school. Idris also visits The Royal London Hospital, where a pioneering programme sees youth workers embedded directly in the casualty department. In these pivotal moments they step-in to support young victims of knife crime, guiding them away from violence.
He has discussions about possible solutions with King Charles and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, advocating earlier interventions and pointing to successful initiatives like one in Coventry, where a teenager who once carried a knife is now training as a football coach. Idris reflects on his youth and his determination to create opportunities for others. His requests culminate in a Knife Crime Summit at 10 Downing Street, bringing together those directly affected to influence policy and inspire change.

Original Film Title: Palaces of Serbia

Director’s Name: Jelena Nevska

Writer’s Name: Jelena Nevska

Producer: Jelena Nevska

Country of Origin: Serbia

Country of Filming: Serbia

Language: Serbian

Runtime: 26 minutes 33 seconds

Film Description:

From royal palaces and princely residences to church courts and forgotten aristocratic castles, “Palaces of Serbia” explores how architecture shaped the cultural, political, and spiritual identity of modern Serbia. Through stories of dynasties, rulers, artists, and ordinary people, the film reveals how these spaces preserved collective memory, national identity, and traditional values across centuries of social transformation.

Original Film Title: Monzon

Director’s Name: Antonello G. Deidda

Writer’s Name: Antonello G. Deidda

Producer: Antonello G. Deidda

Country of Origin:

Country of Filming:

Language:

Runtime: 40 minutes 54 seconds

Film Description:

“MONZON” is a project of a short film about the life of an ex boxeur of cagliari, efisio galici that, in the middle of eighties won the world title. The project speaks about the life of Monzon and about his life in the streets of cagliari. But speaks also about his career of boxeur. The short film predicts interviews of the persons that knew Monzon and, at least, an interview of efisio Galici.

Original Film Title: Becoming Torskyj

Director’s Name: Andrew JORDAN

Writer’s Name: Andrew JORDAN

Producer: Jean-Pascal FOUCAULT

Country of Origin: France

Country of Filming: France, Germany

Language: English, French, German

Runtime: 34 minutes 46 seconds

Film Description:

BECOMING TORSKYJ follows Tanja Torskyj, born in Salzburg in 1975. She works as a nursing assistant at a therapeutic fasting clinic in Überlingen, Germany, tending to patients through their fasts. The life she has always imagined for herself is elsewhere: in Paris, making a living from her art.

Original Film Title: Wheyham: a journey through the timeless legacy of the Nok culture

Director’s Name: Ed Keazor, Chigozie

Writer’s Name: Yahaya Maikori

Producer: Yahaya Maikori

Country of Origin: Nigeria

Country of Filming: Nigeria

Language: English

Runtime: 1 hour 20 minutes

Film Description:

This documentary is about a indigene taking a long trip back to his African roots to investigate the ingenuity of his ancestors whose society thrived contemporaneously with the Greek empire 3000 years ago

Original Film Title: Die Deutsche aus Aleppo

Director’s Name: jk.studio. joud jkproduction

Writer’s Name: joudkalaji joud kalaji

Producer: jk.studio. joud jkproduction

Country of Origin: Germany

Country of Filming: Germany

Language: Arabic, German

Runtime: 7 minutes 30 seconds

Film Description:

I’m very happy that I was on the participant list
and there is still space
I just want to tell you About film idea 😊

i’m joud kalaji from syria aleppo,
and i have a german passport since the birth from my grandma
my grandma is german and i want to film idea for my mother story, my mother astrid here in cologne born in 1961
but she moved to syria with her father,
and on 2015 we will come back to germany and
my grandma helped me find an apartment
and now we are neighbors here in cologne to help her because
she has cancer

Original Film Title: From Dirt to Crown

Director’s Name: Andreas Sebastian Ehrle

Writer’s Name: Andreas Sebastian Ehrle

Producer: Andreas Sebastian Ehrle

Country of Origin: Germany

Country of Filming: Germany

Language: German

Runtime: 49 minutes 25 seconds

Film Description:

Original Film Title: BLU or THE AMICI DI CAMICIA (SHIRT BUDDIES)

Director’s Name: LUIGI CAZZANIGA

Writer’s Name: LUIGI CAZZANIGA

Producer: LUIGI CAZZANIGA

Country of Origin: Italy

Country of Filming: Italy

Language: English, Italian

Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes

Film Description:

Original Film Title: The Engineer

Director’s Name: Sam Alexander Reynard

Writer’s Name: Sam Alexander Reynard

Producer: Esme Stanford-durkin

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Country of Filming: United Kingdom

Language: English

Runtime: 1 hour 16 minutes

Film Description:

The Engineer tells the remarkable story of Adrian Reynard, a pioneering force in motorsport engineering. At 19, he broke the World Land Speed Record on a bike he built himself, sparking a career that would forever change the world of racing. He founded Reynard Racing Cars, which went on to be the largest race car manufacturer in the 70s and 80s. His groundbreaking designs set new standards for speed, reshaping the sport. Adrian’s journey has been defined by bold innovation, great achievements, and moments of failure, but his pursuit of excellence remains undiminished. When his daughter Daniela was born with a rare condition, he turned the same ingenuity that built his racing legacy toward helping her defy the odds. Now, at 74, he faces a new challenge – taking on the land speed record again, strapped onto a motorbike. The Engineer offers an uncompromising look at a man who continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible, no matter the risk.